Video: In campaign for voter enrolment in Punjab, help from Pammi Aunty!

With only about four months to go for the Punjab assembly polls, authorities in Hoshiarpur having want their voter-enrolment campaign to go viral on social media. And Pammi Aunty, an internet sensation created by comedian Ssumier Pasricha, is helping out!

punjabUpdated: Oct 05, 2016 11:42 IST

Harpreet Kaur Hindustan Times

Pammi Aunty, an internet sensation created by comedian Ssumier Pasricha.

With only about four months to go for the Punjab assembly polls, authorities in Hoshiarpur want their voter-enrolment campaign to go viral on social media. And Pammi Aunty, an internet sensation created by comedian Ssumier Pasricha, is helping out!

Deputy commissioner (DC)-cum-district electoral officer Anindita Mitra has engaged Pasricha, who has made a one-minute video of a conversation with the fictional Sarla bhenji, with whom Pammi talks over the phone.

Even people who had no idea about this pink-goggled and hair-curler-wearing ‘woman’ are enamoured ever since she has become an ambassador of the Systematic Voter Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) campaign. The target is to get the youth get voter cards made before October 7, the last date for enrolment.

“When we approached him, he readily accepted the request and came out with this wonderful video within no time. It is interactive, engaging and capturing the attention of our target group,” said Mitra.

Ssumier Pasricha, the man behind Pammi Aunty.
(HT Photo)

In the clip, Pammi Aunty gets a call from Sarla bhenji in Hoshiarpur telling her that it was the birthday of Babli (her daughter). Pammi asks Sarla about Babli’s age and, when told that she has turned 18, she advises Sarla to get the young girl a voter card instead of a salwar-kameez suit on her birthday. Pammi gives out the message that a voter card can be got from the block-level officer or by logging on to www.nvsp.in.

“There is still a huge gap which we have to cover. The projected population of 18- to 19-year-old youth as per the census is over 57,000 whereas during summary revision we enrolled about 10,000 young voters,” she informed. The video has been circulated to all 46 campus ambassadors of various colleges and members of youth clubs. Pasricha could not be contacted for comment.